Three Battlefronts Revealed in the Model Prayer

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray… Matthew 6:7-9a

The denomination in which I grew up recited what we called “the Lord’s Prayer” (aka, the Model Prayer) during every church service. It was probably the first passage I memorized as a young Christian. Regrettably, it became “vain repetition”; I really didn’t think about what I was praying.

In a previous article, we proposed that the Model Prayer is something more than a prayer to recite once a week; it is a prayer of positioning. The Model Prayer is not the prayer to end all prayers, but the prayer to begin all prayers. It is through this model that we come into the Father’s presence – in humility, meekness and total dependency on Him. Without this positioning, all that we have to say are the vain repetitions of man.

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6:9b-13

In this article, with this notion of positioning in mind, we would like to explore three foundational truths that have been lost to the modern church. All three are found in the prayer’s last acknowledgement: For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. We will look at them one at a time.

inLight Adventure – Humility in God’s Greatness and Prayer

To the beloved, whom I love in truth:  I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers; just as you walk in the truth.

This week, as we prepare for our trip to Ecuador, the following report has come in from our dear friend, Pastor Hugo (note: Walter is the owner of the business that is printing the Spanish version of The Map Maker).

Three of Walter’s workers accepted Jesús as their Lord. Walter, while he was printing, he was reading the digital book, and asking me about how he can become a leader in his Marketplace. So I think this is the start of this ministry here.

There was a time when I struggled to understand the humility that people said they had in being used by God. The Map Maker has changed that for me. When God begins to show you what He can do with so little of your help, it makes you humble.

Speaking of humility, I encourage you to reconsider your exercise of The Lord’s Prayer. Much of my early church experience was spent rotely reciting Jesus’ answer to, “Lord, teach us to pray”. As I matured, I began to put meaning to the words and phrases. Recently, it has occurred to me that Jesus was trying to show us how to get into the proper position before the Father, so that our prayers would be effectual.

The literal translation of two particular phrases helps make this point. First, “Your kingdom come” literally means “Your reign come”. The same is true at the end: “Yours is the reign”. It is the invitation and recognition of the Father’s reign over our lives. It is our subjugation to Him as LORD (and all that means).

These Sayings of Mine – Learn to Pray

One of the easiest ways to search out the matters of truth that God has hidden in the Scriptures is to harmonize multiple accounts of the sayings of Jesus. We discover such an example in the accounts of “The Model Prayer”. In Luke’s gospel, we find:

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1

Notice that the disciple did not ask Jesus “how to pray”. As you might expect, “how” is a very common word in the Bible. In fact, it appears 550 times in the New King James Version. So why is it absent here?

I am convinced, and I hope you will consider, that the disciple was asking for more than instruction in prayer. I believe he recognized that Jesus’ way of prayer was so far removed from their own that what they had been calling prayer might as well have been called “apple”.

Jesus’ way of prayer was about life and relationship. It availed much. It was full of humility and trust. Matthew records His thoughts on the contrasting prayers of men.

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Matthew 6:7-8

The prayers of men are about men, and what men want. The prayers of Jesus were (and are) about the Father, and what the Father wants. In this saying, Jesus reveals that learning to pray, at its core, is more about finding the right position before the Father than about what we have to say.

“The Model Prayer” is a model of prayer for our positioning. It is through this model that we come into the Father’s presence. Without this positioning, all that we have to say are the vain repetitions of man.